Understanding the Electronic Structure of Larger Azaacenes through DFT Calculations

Azaacenes Based Electroactive Materials: Preparation, Structure, Electrochemistry, Spectroscopy and Applications-A Critical Review

This short critical review is devoted to the synthesis and functionalization of various types of azaacenes, organic semiconducting compounds which can be considered as promising materials for the fabrication of n-channel or ambipolar field effect transistors (FETs), components of active layers in light emitting diodes (LEDs), components of organic memory devices and others. Emphasis is put on the diversity of azaacenes preparation methods and the possibility of tuning their redox and spectroscopic properties by changing the C/N ratio, modifying the nitrogen atoms distribution mode, functionalization with electroaccepting or electrodonating groups and changing their molecular shape. Processability, structural features and degradation pathways of these compounds are also discussed. A unique feature of this review concerns the listed redox potentials of all discussed compounds which were normalized vs. Fc/Fc⁺. This required, in frequent cases, recalculation of the originally reported data in which these potentials were determined against different types of reference electrodes. The same applied to all reported electron affinities (EAs). EA values calculated using different methods were recalculated by applying the method of Sworakowski and co-workers (Org. Electron. 2016, 33, 300-310) to yield, for the first time, a set of normalized data, which could be directly compared.

Linearly Fused Azaacenes: Novel Approaches and New Applications Beyond Field-Effect Transistors (FETs)

Replacing the CH groups in the backbones of acenes with heteroatoms offers scientists greater opportunities to tune their properties, as the type, position, number, and the valence of the introduced heteroatoms have strong effects on the frontier orbital energy levels. When the heteroatoms are nitrogen atoms, all of the resulting materials are called azaacenes. Recently, the synthesis, structure, physical properties, and applications of azaacene derivatives have been intensively investigated. This review focuses on recent synthetic efforts (since 2013) toward making novel azaacenes as well as their potential applications beyond field-effect transistors (FETs) including organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), memory devices, phototransistors, solar cells, photoelectrical chemical cells, sensors, and conductors.